JOURNALIST: Ambassador, according to reliable sources Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had decided to go to the Golden ‘Temple during his Punjab visit but he changed his plan as he was not sure whether S.G.P.C would officially receive him or not.
AMBASSADOR: That’s right.
JOURNALIST: He is scheduled to pay two more visits to Punjab during the next two months, first to inaugurate the silver jubilee celebrations of Bhakra project and the second to commission an additional unit at the Ropar Thermal plant.
AMBASSADOR: Very correct.
JOURNALIST: 1s he trying to revive his dead Congress (l) party in the state through these trips or is it simply to draw publicity mileage to counter the growing popularity of V.P. Singh?
AMBASSADOR: Not in national interest to disclose.
JOURNALIST: Mr. Ambassador, in an editorial comment THE TRIBUNE, published from Chandigarh, stated that it is absurd to believe that the Engineering students at Bidar were killed because they belonged to a particular (Sikh) community.
AMBASSADOR: That’s right.
JOURNALIST: Consequently, he has advised the Sikhs in Punjab to “await the report of the judicial commission” before expressing their legitimate indignation at the brutal massacre of brilliant students.
AMBASSADOR: Very correct.
JOURNALIST: Why else were the Sikh students singled out and killed, Sikh houses and shops looted and burnt? Besides, what guarantees there that the Judicial report will not meet the fate of Mishra Commission’s report?
AMBASSADOR: Not in national interest to disclose.
JOURNALIST: Mr. Ambassador, Rajiv Gandhi has sanctioned a meagerly amount of 20 lakh rupees as compensation to Punjab for its loss of over 200 corers in the recent floods.
AMBASSADOR: That’s right.
JOURNALIST: The Union Agriculture Minister Mr. Bhajan Lal’s remarks that the floods would prove a boon to farmers and that the loss was not more than 5 or 6 percent appear to have influenced Rajiv.
AMBASSADOR: Very correct.
JOURNALIST: What have pseudo Sikhs like Gopal Singh Dardi and Khushwant Singh to say about this Hindu “secularism?”
AMBASSADOR: Not in national interest to disclose.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 14, 1988
